New Book on Solutions to the Agunah Problem

Recently the Schechter Institute has published a book, Za’akat Dalot, analyzing the numerous solutions to the problem of the agunah which have been put forth. In today’s Haaretz one can read an article about the book, including an interview with the two authors. The book was published under the auspices of the Center for Women in Jewish Law. One can download from their web site numerous case studies which they have published analyzing concrete cases of agunot. On Monday, May 29, 2006, from 4:00-9:30 p.m., there will be a conference at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem discussing the book and its subject matter, including talks by both of the book’s authors and numerous other speakers, including David Golinkin, Shlomo Riskin, and Aviad HaCohen. Those who are interested in either purchasing the book or attending the conference can contact Atalia Gutbir at atalia-at-schechter.ac.il to either register for the conference, find a bookstore which carries the book (probably only in Israel) or to purchase it. For the sake of full-disclosure, I wrote an earlier draft of one of the chapters in the above-mentioned book.

Posted on May 15th, 2006 under Uncategorized • RSS 2.0 feed • Both comments and pings are currently closed

One Response to “New Book on Solutions to the Agunah Problem”

1

Menachem Mendel:
December 14th, 2009 at 2:02 pm

Have you read the four (?) part article in Yeshurun on the history of kiddusin ‘al tenai? Rather good.
Dan Rabinowitz | Homepage | 05.15.06 – 4:34 pm | #

MM:

Is this merely a matter of intellectual curiousity for the Schechter Institute? Has the Masorti movement rejected the Lieberman clause or kiddushin al tenai?

when I wrote my thesis at JTS on the agunah issue, Neil Gillman questioned why I bothered since the problem had been solved for the Conservative movement.
jdub | 05.15.06 – 5:15 pm | #

I thought that Lieberman’s clause might not be enforcable in court. Also, I guess Riskin has already been put into cherem(I forget by whom)so he has no problem speaking at this event. Also,you,jdub,once responded to a comment of mine about Halivni by differentiating between the Conservative movement (as exemplified by the United Synagogue) and the seminary itself. Is that how you responded to Prof. Gillman as well?
andy | 05.15.06 – 6:49 pm | #

Dan, I haven’t read the article in Yeshurun, I’ll try and take a look at it. jdub and Andy, see this article by Mayer Rabinowitz on the current thinking about the agunah issue in America. The Lieberman Clause is for all intents and purposes useless in American courts so it is not really encouraged any more.
Menachem Mendel | Homepage | 05.15.06 – 7:56 pm | #

interesting article. If only there were more rebbeim like R. Riskin and R. Rackman willing to try to fix the problem. It boggles my mind that with the historical precedents out there — in the gemara, no less — that Orthodoxy won’t embrace hafka’at kiddushin in appropriate cases.
jdub | 05.16.06 – 11:41 am | #

If Rackman is Orthodox, then I must be so far to the right that I am about to fall off the e
andy | 05.16.06 – 8:15 pm | #

The whole discussion of the agunah issue misses the main point of whether we want to encourage unilateral no-fault divorce, where either side — the woman or the man — can simply opt out of a marriage. The introduction of this divorce system has only led to the detriment of family life.
Lawyer | 05.18.06 – 5:16 pm | #

If the choice is between a system where women who want out of a marriage cannot get out of it or are blackmailed in the process, and one in which it is a lot easier, maybe sometimes even too easy, I’ll take the latter. Some people just shouldn’t continue in a marriage and no amount of calls for “shalom bayit” are going to help them work things out.Are you so sure that divorce rates in non-Catholic countries/areas are so much higher than they were in the past? Do you know what the Jewish divorce rate was throughout history? You might be surprised. According to Avraham Grossman in 13th century the Jewish divorce rate was higher than 20%. See this book for info on medieval Islamic society.
Menachem Mendel | Homepage | 05.18.06 – 5:33 pm | #